


Storm Heart

by Fcrants



Series: Rambling Snips [1]
Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 04:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13495254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fcrants/pseuds/Fcrants
Summary: Taylor Hebert is afraid of her own abilities. It’s a responsibility that she tries to come to terms with.





	Storm Heart

Calm down, I need to calm down.I thought, moving as far away as possible from Emma and her cronies.

It’s been a year since Emma went off the deep end and started her campaign against me. The shoving, pranks, destroying my school work, using all my secrets against me, those I could endure, but nothing, nothing will ever make up for them destroying my mother’s flute. Anyone would reach their breaking point. I know I did. I just didn’t expect that it came with the world’s crappiest consolation prize. Powers _._

I’ve heard the rumors about it. Who hasn’t? That someone who had a really bad day could trigger _,_ but why would anyone aspire for that when breaking the human limit would get you better, stronger powers. That’s how the Triumvirate got their powers, right?

My powers didn’t really feel weak, though. I could feel something there that I could just reach out and grab on to, and at that moment, at the lowest point in my life, I pulled on it with everything I had. I just didn’t know that I would be setting a storm on the entire East Coast.

 

 _  
_ _“— NOAA still baffled on how such a record breaking storm formed so quickly. This freak hurricane, with winds now more than 90 miles per hour, is crashing on shores of the East Coast. From Brockton Bay and all the way to Atlantic City, pieces of debris washing in as storm surges drag them inland. People near the coast are urged to follow mandatory evacuation. The Governors of Massachusetts, New York State, New Jersey, and Philadelphia have requested additional personnel from the National Guard. An estimated—”_

_“See, Taylor, It’s good to be prepared,” my dad said with a smile on his face._

_It’s been too long since I’ve seen him so alive. The moment the hurricane warning was announced, he set to work fortifying the house. Boarding up the windows, making sure we had enough canned goods and water to last us a while. Just being… a dad. My dad._

_It still didn’t change that all of this was my fault. I tried to push back but the storm was already too big. I didn’t know if I was even making a difference._

_A loud bang startled us._

_"Stay here sweetheart, I’ll go check on that,” Dad said going upstairs._

_Our house creaked and shuddered as it was battered by the winds. I curled up on the couch, panicking._

_This can’t be happening, I thought. I did this. I’ve put all these people in danger. I put Dad in danger just because I was careless. I have to—_

 

From that moment on I’ve felt how my powers affected everything around me. I felt the air currents interact, how they merged and formed bigger formations. It’s more instinctive now and that’s my problem. Unless I actively take control, my powers mirror my emotions.

I sighed and dispersed the storm clouds that began to form because of Emma. It’s days like this that reminds me of how much of a burden my powers have become, of how much it shaped how I now live. Because no matter how much I want to lash out, I never ever want another storm to devastate my home.

Yeah, my powers aren’t weak. They’re terrifying.

_\- - -_

If anything can make reining my emotions in worth it, it was flying. It was an accident, really, that helped me discover it was even possible.

A strong updraft that launched me into the sky was frightening. Falling from god knows how high was even more so. But learning how to over, like floating on a bed of clouds, was liberating.

Since then, I flew every day, sailing through the winds high above the clouds, letting go of all my problems. Up here, I’m free.

I ended my flight high above the city, watching as the setting sun paints the bay orange.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, smiling, then sighed feeling someone approach. Too bad someone’s here to ruin it.

“Hey! East Wind!” Aegis said, coming up next to me. “What a view, right?”

I shook my head and sighed. “That’s not my name, Aegis. What do you want?”

I really shouldn’t have shown them that I could quiet the winds this high up. It would have been easy to just say I couldn’t hear them but then _Armsmaster_ decided to show up on top of a mechanized dragon.

Since then, Dauntless, Lady Photon, Shielder, and Laserdream have been coming up to see me. Well, at least it wasn’t  _Glory Girl._ I suppressed a shudder at the memory of how that disaster turned out.

“You know, the usual. Ask you to join the Wards, make small talk, admire the view, the basics.” He said nonchalantly, ignoring the fact that I didn’t approve of the name that they’d tacked on to me.

“Right.”

I gave him my best deadpan stare. Either it didn’t work or he just didn’t care.

“You could also try to affiliate with the PRT, you know. Just sign a few documents, stay out of trouble and you’d get a check every month.”

Gritting my teeth, I said. “Yes. I know. I’ll tell you  _again_ what I’ve told you and the others last time. I’ll think about it.”

I’m tired of this. Since we’ve first spoken, every single time that I’ve come out here to unwind, they’re there. Them wanting to talk to me, wanting to get know me, to join their little group when all that I’ve ever wanted was control. Control over my stupid life, control over my stupid powers, and the freedom to just live, to just be me.

Clenching my fists and forcing myself to breathe. I tried to rein myself in, I just—

“We can help you. With whatever it is that’s troubling you.” He said.

That brought me up short. Help me?  _Help me?_

 _“What do you even know about me!”_ I spat at him, taking deep breaths, trying not to lose it.

If he was threatened by the thunder clouds that began to form he didn’t show it.

He just said, “You’re a cape. A new one.”

As if that’s all he needed to know that something was wrong.

“And what does that even have to do with anything?” I asked derisively and just a tiny bit curious why.

“We don’t get our powers by because our lives are full of cotton candy and rainbows, Wind.” He said with all seriousness.

“B-but…” I stuttered, confused.    

“Yeah, the higher ups didn’t want people torturing themselves for powers, so even the Triumvirate helped with the misinformation. Everyone gets their powers through trigger events. Everyone went through their own personal hell to get it.” He closed his eyes and I had a good idea ofwhat he was seeing.

I clenched my fist, trying to keep the tide of memories at bay and failing. Remembering how much I’ve lost, trying my best to keep any remnant of my mom with me. That’s why I signed up for the flute for our music elective in the first place.

Emma was gone but I still had the memories of my mom with me, only for her to turn around and destroy it. She knew how much that meant to me and she just didn’t care. And, at that moment that was all I could see, Emma and her new friends destroying everything that was important to me, like a storm wrecking everything in their path.

“I’ll think about it.” I said, breaking the silence.

“Thanks.” He said, smiling.

“I should go home, it being a school night and all.”

“You sure you can make it home safely, Wind?” He asked jokingly.

“Of course I can,” I drawled, moving away from him. “And that’s still not my name.”

“We have a PR team that could help you with that.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help but join in, laughing away my hurt and pain.

“You’re persistent, aren’t you? Every day it’s either you or Dauntless, waiting here just to watch the sunset with me.” I said.

“It’s all part of the job. Plus there are big scary villains here. We like to think we keep them away.” He said smugly.

“Yeah, thanks for that… Well, bye.” I said lamely.

“Stay safe.” He said, watching me fly away.

 ---

 


End file.
